What Can I Say
by kdr2730
Summary: Ezra is in love with Aria but feels she may love another and makes the choice easier for her.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars or these characters. Not written for money, only enjoyment. **

**So I usually write Jaria stories, because I love Jason and Aria together but I wanted to try an Ezria one. **

* * *

Ezra stared at the dark amber liquid that swirled in his glass. He had been drinking the same liquid for close to an hour and was realizing that even Jack Daniel's wasn't going to make what he was about to do any easier. Walking towards the window in his apartment he told himself he was making the right choice. Going to Baton Rouge was for the best, it would give them both the change they needed and time to start over. As he looked out at Rosewood and the goings on he thought back to the previous Saturday…

* * *

_Flashback: _

_He had seen her when he left The Brew. She was sitting on a swing just twirling around staring at her feet. Not quite sure but he could tell something was bothering her, something she hadn't told him about. _

_"Ari-" he started to call out when he saw a blonde guy approach her carrying an ice cream cone. The guy sat down on the other swing, they didn't talk while they ate. After Aria had finished her ice cream the guy got behind her and pulled her swing back. _

_All he could do was stand there and watch. Noticing a shift in his peripheral vision he turned to see Spencer Hastings watching the pair like he was. Walking over, "Hey Spencer." He said calmly sitting down at the table with her.  
"Hey Ezra." She stated not taking her eyes off of Aria and the guy.  
"Who is that?"  
"Jason DiLaurentis." Spencer told him finally looking at him. He could see something in her eyes; it was something that had been Aria's for months now.  
"Is he related to your friend?"  
"He was her older brother. Aria had a huge crush on him when we were younger."  
"Do you know if there is anything going on between them now?" He asked unsure.  
"I know that Jason is helping her deal with stuff with Mike." The young girl told him.  
"What's wrong with Mike?"  
"He's been getting into trouble. Jason caught him trying to break into his house and ever since he has been helping him out. I know Aria is happy about that."  
"She didn't tell me."  
"She didn't tell us either. So you aren't the only one who's been in the dark."  
"How did you find out then?"  
"Jason is my half-brother." Spencer told him flatly. _

_Their conversation was stopped when they heard Aria laughing and giggling uncontrollably. "Jason it's too high. Stop." She said amongst her giggles. Ezra watched as Aria let go of the cables on the sides of the swing and when she came back Jason put his arms around her middle and pulled her off the slide. The two fell back onto the ground laughing. Aria laid her head against his chest and relax. The two looked as though they didn't have a care in the world, for that moment it was just the two of them. _

_Watching her, Ezra realized that he and Aria would never be able to just be like that. They would always have to stay hidden. She would never be able to snuggle into him at the park after eating ice cream. He would never be the guy that she needed him to be. She had gone to Jason DiLaurentis when Mike got into trouble, not him and she trusted him to make things better in her world. _

* * *

Caught up in his thoughts, Ezra almost missed the knocking on his door. Walking over he took deep breaths and tried to stay calm as he opened the door. "Hi Aria. Come on in." he said evenly.  
"Ezra what's wrong?" she asked worried.  
"We need to talk."  
"Okay. How long have you been drinking?"  
"I've been holding this cup for about an hour." He told her.  
"Oh okay. What did you need to talk to me about? On the phone it sounded urgent."  
"Us. I need you to hear me out all the way though."  
"Okay." She agreed her voice starting to shake.  
"I'm taking that job in Baton Rouge."  
"Ezra!"  
"Aria please let me finish." He said putting his hand up stop her. "It's for the best. I saw you last Saturday at the park with Jason. You looked as though you didn't have a care in the world and happy. I haven't seen you look like that since we first started seeing each other."  
"Ezra last week was tough. He just came over. "  
Looking at her, "Why didn't you tell me about the trouble Mike has been getting into?" he asked.  
"I-I…" she stuttered.  
"You didn't feel as though you could." He finished for her. "I understand that I do. You went to Jason because you know him and trust him. I can't blame you for that."  
"Ezra."  
"I will never be the guy you run to when you have problems at home. I don't know why but you don't trust me enough to run to me but you do him." He stated heading towards his window. "We need to break up." He said turning around to see tears streaming down Aria's face.  
"Ezra, I'm so sorry. I don't know why I go to Jason." She cried  
"I think I do." He said walking towards her and pulling her into his arms. "When you were younger Jason was forbidden to you and when we started to see each other I was the same way. I think the feelings you had for Jason were in hibernation and you put them on me when we met." Aria just shook harder in his arms, "How did you know I had feelings for Jason?" she asked looking up at him.  
"I saw Spencer at the park. She was watching you guys." He told her.  
"I'm sorry." Aria said in a low tone.  
"It's okay Aria. I understand this more than you know."  
"I don't want you to go to Baton Rouge. We can get past this." She said stubbornly.  
"No we can't Aria." Ezra said lifting her chin, "Can you honestly tell me that you don't have feelings for Jason DiLaurentis?"  
Aria just stared at him. Her eyes said the one thing she couldn't tell him. She loved the guy and had for a long time. Probably longer than she had ever realized.  
"Ezra…" she started but stopped when her voice broke.  
"It's okay Aria. But I think it's time for you to leave." He said squeezing her shoulders.

He walked her to his door and opened it, she stepped outside and then dashed to the stairs. Ezra didn't need to ask if she had been crying because he knew she was. Closing the door he downed the rest of the whiskey in his cup and poured another glass. He had just let the girl he was in love with go and it stung.

Aria just ran out of Ezra's apartment building. She didn't care if people saw that she was hysterical. The guy she thought she was in love with had just broken her heart and told her that he was leaving. Stumbling she made it into The Brew. Taking her face out of her hands she looked around for a friendly face, someone that would comfort her.

"Aria is everything okay?" a male voice asked.

Looking around she met Zack's eyes and just fell apart.

Zack rushed around the counter and picked up his girlfriend's daughter and carried her back to his office. He had noticed that Emily immediately picked up the phone and started to dial, probably her Mom and their friends. Aria clung to Zack like he was her life line. After a few minutes she began to calm down and breathe normally.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" He asked in a gentle tone rubbing her back.  
"Ezra broke up with me and told me he is taking the job in Baton Rouge." She said in a barely audible voice.  
"Did he have a reason?" Zack asked, never having met the guy he couldn't make a judgment, but he knew he must have had a good reason.  
"He asked if I had feelings for Jason and I couldn't say anything." She told him looking at her hands.  
"I'm sorry Aria."  
"I never meant to hurt him. Never! I thought I was over my feelings for Jason and then he came back into town and helped Mike and me. I just…" she spouted out in a string.  
"I know." Zack said reassuring her, "I have watched you with Jason. He seems to make you happy. When you're with him you look like nothing in the world could bother you."  
"That's how he makes me feel. I don't have to pretend when I'm around him. He's seen my bad side when I get angry, he knows about Mike and wants to help him, he doesn't judge me because of my past. I just…" Aria said firmly staring at Zack.  
"You have feelings for him." He added.  
"Yeah." She said sheepishly. "I never meant to hurt Ezra with them though. He pretty much told me that he couldn't be the guy I needed, but Jason could."  
"This won't make you feel better, but he may have a point. Your Mom told me that Ezra never wanted you two to be seen in public together."  
"He didn't want to get into trouble." She defended.  
"Okay. But with Jason you can be seen in public with no punishment." He finished.  
Aria just looked at Zack and realized he was right. Wrapping her arms around his neck she knew that she would be okay and Ezra had been right to break up with her. It didn't make the pain lessen but it did help to know that maybe she could be happy with Jason. "You're pretty good at this advice stuff." She told him smiling.  
"Thanks." He said hugging her back, "I'm always here if you need to talk."  
"I'll probably take you up on that as long as you don't pass along everything to my Mom." She added.  
"I'll only pass along the stuff you would tell her anyway." Zack teased back glad to see Aria smile a little.

Smiling Aria made her way out of Zack's office and out front where she knew that her friends would be waiting for an explanation on her entrance to The Brew and why Zack had taken her in the back.

Ella Montgomery had literally grabbed Mike and ran out of her house when Emily had called to say that Aria had come in to The Brew and fallen apart. Rushing in Emily had pointed towards the back where Zack's office was. Walking back she had had every intention of going in and comforting her daughter, but when she saw that Aria was open with Zack and letting him comfort her she stopped. Ella wanted nothing more than for her kids to be okay with her and Zack. They had surprised and welcomed him into their lives even though they usually kept their private lives private. She could hear Aria explaining why she and Ezra Fitz had broken up, she hoped that Aria would realized soon that she was in love with Jason. Being a mother it was breaking her heart to see the love in Jason's eyes when he was around Aria, but have her never see it and act on it.

Hanna and Spencer both ran to Aria when she came out front and demanded to know what was going on. Zack and Ella came from the back and he told Emily to take her break so she could talk with Aria also. Sitting down Aria began to explain her emotional breakdown. She told her friends that she and Ezra were over and that he was going to go to Baton Rouge. The girls all sat slack jawed when they heard the news of Ezra. None of them could believe it.

"Aria, did Ezra have a reason to break up with you?" Spencer asked hoping he didn't.  
"He asked if I had feelings for Jason and I couldn't answer him." She told her friends.  
"Aria!" Spencer scolded.  
"Shut up Spencer!" Aria retorted standing up. The Brew suddenly became very quiet but Aria didn't care. "I'm so tired of your attitude when it comes to Jason. You have never even given him a chance. You judged him based on his past. Yes he made mistakes, but we all have. Even you! You cannot sit there and judge me for having feelings for Jason DiLaurentis when you gave Toby a chance and made us all deal with it. So I'm calling your bluff. So either deal with it or walk away now because I'm done listening to you blame every bad thing on Jason. He has helped me and my family more than you even know!" she finished sitting down, "Oh my God." She whispered.  
"About time." Hanna stated staring at her friend. The girls all knew that Aria rarely had outbursts but when she did it was because something was important to her.  
"I need to find Jason." Aria said gathering her stuff.  
"You won't have to go far." Emily said pointing towards the door. Jason had just walked in.

Aria left her stuff on the table by her friends and made her way to Jason. He looked at her with those green eyes she could never get out of her head. She just wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him. It took Jason a few seconds, but when his arms wrapped around her he heard, "I'm sorry it's taken me so long to realize it." Aria told him.

Pulling back, "Realize what?" Jason asked slightly confused.  
"That I'm in love with you." She told him standing on her tippy toes and kissing him. Jason just responded by kissing her back.

Ella looked at Zack and they both smiled. Mike sat at a table and had a look on his face that said about time. Hanna smiled and did a small happy clap. Emily smiled. Spencer just sat there still in shock that Aria had gone off on her, but when she saw her best friend and half-brother kiss she couldn't deny how happy they looked.

* * *

It had been two weeks since Ezra had broken up with Aria. The pain was significantly less than it had been. His apartment was almost all packed up. The only thing really left was his bed. He opened the door and stepped inside holding his mail, flipping through he found a letter from Aria. They hadn't seen each other since their break up but he had heard that she had been seen around town with Jason. Opening the letter he read…

_Dear Ezra,_

_I'm so sorry for the way things ended between us. I know they didn't end badly but I feel horrible for not being able to admit to you that I have feelings for Jason. For so long I had to keep them a secret and I guess when you asked I felt like Ali was asking. I hope that everything goes well for you in Baton Rouge. I hope it is everything you want it to be. I will miss you being in Rosewood. You helped spur my knowledge when it came to reading and traveling. I will never forget what you taught me. I'm not writing this to make myself feel better, but to let you know that I did have feelings for you. I wanted so badly to be in love with you, to be the one that you would spend the rest of your life with. I'm sorry I didn't turn out to be that girl. I know you will find her someday and she will love you more than I ever could. _

_Sincerely,  
Aria _

Ezra hadn't realized he was crying until he heard the hard knocking on his door. Standing up he wiped his hand over his face and headed to let the movers in. Walking down to his car he could see that it was pouring down rain outside, how appropriate, he thought to himself. As he got to his car he saw a flash of brunette hair. He turned to see Jason spin Aria into his arms and kiss her passionately. Watching them Ezra knew that his heart should break but he was happy for her. She was in the arms of the guy she was madly in love with. Driving out of Rosewood Ezra knew without a doubt that he had made the right choice. While letting Aria go was hard, seeing her in love with Jason made him realize that he could have never been that guy. He never would have been able to kiss her in the pouring rain and show her how truly he loved her.


End file.
